China launched the Asteroid research apparatus “Tianven-2” into space. This was reported by the National Space Administration of China (CNSA).
According to the agency, the launch was made in the first hours of the day from the Sichan cosmodrome in the province of Sichuan using the Long March-3B Y110 launch vehicle. About 18 minutes after the start, the device reached the transition orbit and opened the solar panels.
As part of the probe mission, it will reach the near -Earth asteroid 2016 HO3, from which it will collect samples of soil and breeds. After that, he will go to another cosmic body – asteroid 311p in the main belt between Mars and Jupiter.
According to the plan, the device should reach 2016 HO3 during the year. After entering the orbit around the asteroid, he will make observations and go down to the surface to collect samples. The probes will drop a capsule with samples in near -Earth orbit, where it will be returned to Earth by the end of 2027. After that, “Tianven-2” will continue the flight in the direction of 311p.
Asteroid 2016 HO3 was opened in 2016 at the Haleakala Observatory in Hawaii using the Pan-Starrs telescope. Although it is located at a distance of millions of kilometers from the Earth, its orbit is synchronized with the earth, so it is considered the “semi -satellite” of our planet. It is believed that this object can be a broken fragment of the moon.
Asteroid 311P, found in 2013 with the same telescope, is a rare phenomenon: being in a belt of asteroids, it demonstrates features similar to a comet due to a dusty tail. Scientists believe that such a look is due to a high speed of rotation, because of which particles are thrown out of the surface of the asteroid.
Studying such objects will help replenish knowledge gaps about the composition, structure and evolution of small bodies of the solar system.
The program “Tianven”
The name “Tianven” (“Questions to Heaven”) comes from the poem of the Chinese poet Zyu Yuan, who lived in the 4th century BC. e.
The first mission of approaching asteroid was made by the Chan-2 device after the completion of its tasks in the orbit of the moon. In 2012, he flew past the asteroid 4179 Tutatis.
In 2020, as part of the Tianveen-1 mission, China sent to Mars an orbital satellite and a descent module with the Zhuzhong Mars-Magist, which successfully reached the surface of the red planet after a 202-day flight.
The next Mission of Tianveen -3 is scheduled for 2028 – its goal is to deliver soil samples from Mars to Earth.